The use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for computers and other electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years. Exemplary touch-sensitive surfaces include touch pads and touch screen displays. Such surfaces are widely used to manipulate user interface objects on a display.
Exemplary manipulations include interacting with a map application or interface to access various pieces of information. But existing methods for accessing information in a map application or interface are cumbersome and inefficient. For example, there may be many pieces, types, and/or levels of information for a single location on a map. But such information is presented in ways that do not facilitate cognitive association with the single location and that do not facilitate smooth navigation between the pieces, types, and/or levels of information. This creates a significant cognitive burden on a user and lessens the utility of the information. In addition, existing methods take longer than necessary to navigate through the information, thereby wasting energy. This latter consideration is particularly important in battery-operated devices.